


long shot

by myownremedy



Series: Ready, Set, Brew [1]
Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Human, F/M, Footsie, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-18 14:46:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16997001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myownremedy/pseuds/myownremedy
Summary: long(lungo)shot,n.:1. an espresso shot brewed longer and with more water than average, giving it a subtly different flavor.2. the hot barista who is probably this nice to everyone and doesn't like you like that.





	long shot

**Author's Note:**

> written for queen-archeron on Tumblr! I hope you enjoy this. :) Thank you to rosehallshadowsinger for organizing this exchange and helping me come up with Elain's drink. She's been such a champion throughout <3 also a BIG thank you to salvatorehart <3<3!! this fic sucked before she put it through it's paces and now it's so much better, all thanks to her. ily babe <3

Elain groaned as she walked through the doors of _Ready, Set, Brew!_ Even with her stuffed up nose she could smell the rich scent of coffee that permeated the place. This tiny coffee shop a few blocks from her apartment was her happy place, perfect for studying with it’s cozy tables and fireplace, especially now that it was snowing outside. If she was honest with herself, it was only half about the coffee atmosphere.

The other half was the tall, handsome guy manning the espresso machine behind the counter.

“Hey,” Azriel said quietly, his eyes raking over her for a few seconds in such an obvious way it made Elain blush. She looked like shit today. It was finals week  _and_ she was sick. She had actually been hoping Azriel wouldn’t be here today because she didn’t want him to see her like this, but now that she was looking at him she was grateful he was here. Azriel just made everything better. Even when Elain felt homicidal from stress and a sinus headache.

“How are you holding up?” Azriel asked, and as soon as he smiled at her the world didn’t seem so terrible.

It was probably the coffee.

“Stressed. Fall Quarter has been hellish. What’s up with you?”

“Nothing much,” he said, starting on her usual without needing her to remind him of it, having had it memorized since first time she came in. Elain practically lived here. He was always so attentive, always remembering her drink and sometimes giving her pastries or sandwiches for free at the end of the night.

She tried telling herself it must be because he was nice to everyone. He seemed like that kind of guy.

It only took a moment for Azriel to make her vanilla rose latte, his scarred hands moving in practiced, graceful movements that always made Elain wonder if he danced or did martial arts.

Soon enough Elain was sequestered at her regular table in the corner, next to the fireplace decorated with evergreen garlands. Unfortunately, Organic Chemistry was waiting for her. She had to study now for her test tomorrow because she had a thing with her sisters tonight; she and Feyre were _finally_ going to meet Nesta’s mysterious boyfriend.

She submerged herself in OChem, only surfacing a few hours later when Azriel leaned a hip against her table, motorcycle helmet under one arm.

“You heading out?” Elain asked. Even after an eight hour shift Azriel looked beautiful, black curly hair artfully tousled and hazel eyes unreadable as he squinted down at her notes.

“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate, which was typical. Even though he was nice to her, and thoughtful – it was his job, Elain reminded herself for the 100thtime – he was also stoic, almost to a fault. Elain had been going to this coffee shop for a year but she still didn’t know much about him, other than he was saving up money for a master’s degree in international relations, he was the only child of a single mom, and he was allergic to dairy. Well, that and that he was mind meltingly gorgeous. But she almost didn’t need too. It felt right to sit with Azriel in silence, but he was equally happy to listen to her ramble about why she was studying plants or her plans for opening up her own nursery. He always asked thoughtful questions and seemed to genuinely care about her answers, whether they were talking botany or international politics. Maybe it was stupid, but when she was talking to Azriel she felt fully understood in a way she never had before.

Azriel’s jaw was set and his face was smooth and devoid of expression, including the slight softness his expression typically had when he was talking to her. Elain tilted her head as she studied him. She had seen this look before, when she’d asked him a question too personal and he needed a moment to reply. “Are you okay?”

Azriel raked a hand through his hair. “Can I sit?”

“Of course!” Elain hurriedly tried to organize her spread out papers, calculator, various pencils, and gross snotty tissues. God, she was such a mess. She was all too aware she looked like one too: sweat pants, a messy bun, and an oversized sweater. Ordinarily she would never leave the house like this but it was finals week _and_ she was sick. She just didn’t have the energy to give a damn about her appearance. “What’s going on?”

Azriel took a deep breath. “I was wondering if you’d like to get dinner tonight.”

Every thought in Elain’s head fled. “Really?” She squeaked, her heart racing. She hadn’t been asked out by a man since her douche bag ex, Greyson, had first asked her out. “I mean –” There was a visceral ache in her chest as she remembered she had dinner with her sisters tonight. “I can’t.”

Azriel’s expression got even blanker, and he nodded once. “Okay.”

“No, I mean,” Elain wanted to sink through the floor and die. “I have a thing tonight. An important thing. A family thing.” God, that didn’t sound believable in the slightest. The hardness in Azriel’s eyes showed he thought so too. “I swear – I’d love to go out some other time.”

“You don’t have to let me down easy.” Azriel’s voice was like granite. He stood, entire body was stiff, and nodded at her. “I’ll see you around.”

Elain watched him stride out of the shop. A moment later she heard the roar of his motorcycle. As soon as it faded everything she should have said flooded into her brain, like the purr of the engine had knocked sense back into her.

“Fuck!” she said, burying her face in her hands. Azriel’s replacement, Lucien, gave her a sympathetic look from behind the counter.

 

Hours later, Elain strode into the restaurant she was meeting her sisters at. She had debated just not showing up to dinner with them and Nesta’s boyfriend, even though she wanted to meet him. She’d only felt worse after she left the coffee shop, and she was a snot machine. Her entire body ached, and her brain felt like it had been replaced by mashed potatoes. But she knew how important this was to Nesta: the tell tale sign was how increasingly tight lipped about her mystery guy Nesta was. Nesta kept things she loved close to the chest, as if to keep them safe from the rest of the world. Or maybe she did it so the world wouldn’t try to take anyone else she loved from her. Elain couldn’t fault her logic; their parents had died in a devastating car accident when Nesta was a senior in high school.

Nesta and Feyre had gotten them through that, which is why Elain ended up going to the dinner. She couldn’t bear to let Nesta down after Nesta had done so much for her. Feyre’s prodigious archery skills and Nesta’s willingness to work two jobs were why they had been able to stay together instead of being split up and placed in foster care.

Feyre was already there, sipping a Moscow mule and examining the menu.

“Hey,” Feyre said, standing and wrapping Elain up in a hug. “Aww, Ellie, are you still sick?” She placed the back of her palm to Elain’s forehead while Elain sniffled pathetically.

“Yeah,” Elain sighed, unable to dredge up her usual optimism. “I almost didn’t come. Today has been so awful, and I have a huge test tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you can dip after an hour,” Feyre said. “I’ll make your excuses to Nesta if she gets mad.”

Elain drew her baby sister into another hug. She wanted to tell Feyre that she was lucky, to be going to art school instead of studying plant biology like Elain was, but she knew that wasn’t fair. She knew how hard Feyre worked. Up close there were dark circles under Feyre’s eyes. She had probably stayed up all night painting again.

“Oh, there’s Nesta,” Feyre said, and Elain whipped around. Nesta was just walking into the restaurant. She was stunning in a gunmetal gray dress and her usually coronet braid. A moment later a tall, muscular man with a rough hewn face and shoulder length black hair followed her. As Elain watched, a petite woman dressed in black, a curvy blond woman in a red dress, and a tall, dark haired man trailed them.

“Who’re they?” She asked Feyre. Nesta hadn’t said it would be anyone other than them and Cassian.

“No idea.”

Nesta beamed when she reached their table, wrapping them both up in a hug. She looked calm and in control, but Elain knew her sister as well as she knew herself and she could tell: Nesta was nervous.

“Cassian, these are my sisters, Feyre and Elain,” Nesta said.

“I’m relieved to finally meet you two,” Cassian said, winking at them. “Nesta talks of no one else. Ladies, these are three of my best friends: Rhysand, Amren, and Morrigan.”

“Please call me Mor.” Mor said, smiling prettily. “And no one calls Rhysand that, we all call him Rhys.”

“His other best friend will be joining us too, but he’s late” Nesta said waspishly. “Let’s sit.”

Cassian and his friends were charming, and tolerant of Feyre and Elain’s barrage of questions. Cassian was a martial artist who owned his own gym, which was how he had met Nesta: she had attended a woman’s self defense workshop he had put on, though they hadn’t gotten together until months after. Rhysand and Mor were both lawyers, but Rhys was thinking of going into politics instead of practicing law.

In no time Feyre, Rhys, Amren, and Mor were arguing about a controversial piece of legislation and Cassian and Nesta were deep in conversation. Elain stayed quiet, her conversation with Azriel looping in her head. God, she wanted a glass of wine but she had learned the hard way in freshman year of college that alcohol and cold meds did _not_ mix.

She couldn’t believe that Azriel had actually asked her out, and she had fucked up that badly at explaining. All she wanted was to see him again and explain and beg him to go out to dinner with her. She wanted to make him smile. She wanted this so much that when she looked up to see him standing at their table, staring at her, she thought she was hallucinating.

“There you are!” Cassian said, standing up to hug Azriel. “I’m so glad you decided to come out after all.”

Azriel dragged his gaze away from Elain slowly to clap Cassian on the back. “Wouldn’t miss it.” He said, his normally quiet voice rough.

“You want anything?”

“Wine.” Azriel said, like he could read Elain’s mind. He dropped into the seat opposite her but didn’t look at her, instead introducing himself to Feyre and patiently answering her questions. It was only when Feyre returned to arguing with Mor, Amren, and Rhys that Azriel looked at Elain.

“Hey,” she said hesitantly. Azriel’s eyes raked over her, taking in her long sleeved velvet sheath dress and fishtail braid. If she had known he was coming she would have worn something else, something a little more low cut. She was firmly in meeting potential future brother-in-law mode, not sexy night out mode.  

“‘A family thing.’” Azriel said quietly, quoting her from that afternoon.

“My brain is mush,” Elain’s voice was just as quiet. “But I wasn’t lying.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.” Azriel’s hazel eyes were soft and full of sincerity.

“I should have explained better.”

Under the table, a foot gently brushed against her calf. Elain knew somehow that it was Azriel’s. It felt so intimate; something just between the two of them, that no one else knew about.

Azriel leaned forward slightly. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yes.” Now that he was here, everything was better: her aching head, her stuffy nose, the anxious knots in her stomach. It was like he was what made it possible for her to set her burdens down. “And I think I’m as ready for my test as I’ll ever be.” She dragged the edge of her right foot up his left leg slowly and watched him swallow and take a sip of water.

“It’s your last one, right?”

“Yes.” Even just thinking about being done was tantalizing. Like the way the inside of Azriel’s thigh felt against her foot.  “I’ll be done by noon.”

“Let me make you dinner tomorrow night,” Azriel requested. “I know you’re sick, so I’ll make you soup and we can keep warm from the snow.” His eyes were heated. The rest of their dining companions seemed to have fallen away. There was only the two of them and the way Elain’s blood was singing in her veins.

“I’d like that,” she said quietly, and Azriel grinned at her. Oh, god. He had never smiled at her like this before. He even had _dimples_. Elain’s heart flipped over in her chest. She was in so much trouble.

Under the table, Azriel reached down and ran a calloused hand along the top of her foot, his touch warm. Goosebumps broke out along Elain’s arms, and he smiled again. “It’s a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> I pictured Elain in something like [this](https://shop.nordstrom.com/s/eliza-j-velvet-sheath-dress/4753306?origin=category-personalizedsort&breadcrumb=Home%2FWomen%2FClothing%2FDresses%2FNight%20Out&color=hunter).  
> my tumblr is [here, come say hi! prompts welcome.](http://marnz.tumblr.com)


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